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Togbe Hodzi Dunyo IV, Chief of Ave Atanve has called for the setting up of special courts to handle traffic offences.

He noted that traffic offences were not given ‘satisfactory’ attention in traditional courts and thereby frustrated efforts at promoting road safety in the country.

Togbe Dunyo said interventions such as instant ticketing and specialised courts had proved worthwhile in curbing traffic offences in many countries and called on government and other stakeholders to consider implementing such policies.

He made the call when he chaired the Road Safety Stakeholders Forum organised by the Volta Regional office of the National Road Safety Commission (NSRC) in Ho on Wednesday.

Togbe Dunyo who is also the Chairman for the Road Safety Enforcement Foundation, a non-governmental organization, called for collaboration between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the National Insurance Commission (NIC) to ensure that the DVLA certified insured vehicles only.

Mr. Daniel Wuaku, Regional Director, NSRC described the spate of road accidents in the country as a “national disaster” adding that reported cases alone amounted to 2,204 accident related deaths nationwide in 2016.

He said the Region recorded a total of 67 road crashes between January and February this year and mentioned Ho and Keta Municipalities and the Eastern Corridor road as accident prone areas.

Mr. Wuaku said more private vehicles were involved in the accidents than commercial ones and called on stakeholders to help reduce the crashes, which he said affected livelihoods and hampered development.

He said over-speeding, rising pedestrian knockdowns and rising motor cycle accidents remained major concerns in the Region.

Nana Hinneh Asomah, Volta Regional Police Commander in a speech read on his behalf, noted that a good number of motor bikes in the Region were not registered and assured that the police would increase visibility to ensure safety for all.